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Marco Mendicino takes high road in nomination fight with Eve Adams

Marco Mendicino, who is facing Eve Adams in a Liberal nomination fight, says he's not upset she was "parachuted’’ into the riding.

Marco Mendicino, who's seeking the federal Liberal nomination in Eglinton-Lawrence, is steering away from the Eve Adams controversy, preferring to bill himself as a “strong local candidate.’’ (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

The Toronto lawyer seeking the upcoming Liberal nomination in Eglinton—Lawrence says he holds “no hard feelings’’ over the fact his opponent, MP Eve Adams, was parachuted into the federal riding after defecting from the Conservatives.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s decision to allow Adams to vie for the Liberal nod in the riding has caused a storm of controversy within the party’s ranks. A key complaint from critics is that Adams, a Mississauga MP and long time Conservative who left her party in early February, has no business or personal ties to Eglinton—Lawrence and is being dropped in from a distant suburban riding.

But in his first extensive interview, Marco Mendicino, 41, says he doesn’t begrudge Trudeau’s decision to bring Adams into the fold and let her seek the nomination.

“Anytime the party can grow is a positive thing. Mr. Trudeau brought her in the spirit of having a big tent party. I think it’s been exciting to have more attention drawn to this nomination,’’ Mendicino said in an interview at his home Tuesday.

“I found that everybody understands what it means to vote in a federal election. But there are a few who weren’t quite as familiar with the nomination process, and as a result of (Adams coming in) they are fully engaged,’’ Mendicino said, referring to some voters in the riding.

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A date for the nomination vote is still to be set.

The winner there would face incumbent MP and Conservative Finance Minister Joe Oliver, who took the riding from Liberal MP Joe Volpe in 2011, in the fall election.

Some of the criticism directed at Adams’ nomination bid has come from Mike Colle, a respected and long-time Liberal MPP (Eglinton—Lawrence) who is endorsing Mendicino.

Colle has called the decision to let Adams contest the nomination “one of the dumbest moves’’ he’s ever seen.

“How does Eve Adams expect Liberal voters in Eglinton—Lawrence to support someone who has absolutely no connection with the riding and who two months ago was a loyal (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper Conservative MP from Mississauga?’’ Colle said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Adams’ adviser, Amanda Alvaro, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that Mendicino’s supporters have taken to “mudslinging.”

The argument that Adams is not connected to the riding is “a point of view from a candidacy feeling squeezed, and feeling worried, frankly,’’ Alvaro said.

Since the day she announced she was leaving the Conservatives, Adams’ “entire focus has been about putting her head down, not engaging in a battle of words in the media, and being extremely focused on meeting with people in the community and getting them involved,’’ she said.

Adams is attracting community leaders who are hosting events on her behalf in their homes and introducing her to large numbers of residents, Alvaro claimed.

Mendicino considers Colle a role model and an example to a “young aspiring politician,’’ but is currently steering away from the Adams controversy, preferring to bill himself as a “strong local candidate.’’

Mendicino says that during his nearly eight months of door-knocking in the riding he has forged strong ties with residents and community leaders, and secured some key endorsements among those leaders.

He stresses that he and his immediate and extended family members have decades-long ties to the riding. He has lived with his wife and two daughters, ages 4 and 7, in the riding near Avenue Rd. and Lawrence Ave. since 2007.

Mendicino is a former federal prosecutor who’s now in private practice. Among his notable cases was co-lead prosecution in the Toronto 18 trial, a terrorism plot foiled in 2006.

Mendicino says his experience on the terrorism file gave him a unique perspective.

The difference between him and his “true opponent,’’ Oliver, is the latter claims national security and terrorism are going to become defining issues for Canada, Mendicino says.

“I don’t agree with that. I think the other issues are the real issues — good jobs, health care, education, proper transportation, investment in public infrastructure.

“The difference is whereas the prime minister has shown a tendency to fear monger and divide Canadians against each other, I believe I can contribute to having a debate around some of these issues, which are difficult, without (being divisive).”

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